After Minnesota United’s third and final friendly in Mexico (a 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul Reserves), we caught up with head coach Carl Craig as he wound down before a 4 AM flight on Saint Patrick’s Day.
JR: I’ll start with the most pressing question: there are many United fans who have been concerned about the lack of quality beer at your disposal in Mexico. Any luck fixing that over the past week?
CC: (laughter) Unfortunately, we were only able to find one brewpub (Fiebre de Malta) in Mexico City. There were some good options at the restaurant we went to last night – great restaurant overall. A rustic design, fantastic food, and a classy place altogether. I’d love to see a similar place in the Twin Cities. Good beer selection at that spot, but otherwise we had to suffer. You might think I was able to sneak a pint or two every night, but that’s just not true.
JR: After losing three games in Portland, you won one game and drew two in Mexico. Where did you see improvement within your team?
CC: Just finally putting together the concepts we’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Fitness is still an issue – which I mentioned to you last week. This week was much better. I gave them a little speech on Monday morning about this being a new spring, that the sun is shining and brings a new chance to rebuild. I told them that it gave them a new opportunity and the lads responded by pressing really hard and had some good work this week. Still not where we need them to be, but we’ve got a couple of weeks to go.
JR: Over the friendlies, Christian Ramirez had two goals, and Lance Laing, Elbio Alvarez, & Damion Lowe each added one. Beyond the box score, who stood out to you and really stepped up their game during your trip?
CC: Bernardo (Añor) really stood out to me. He didn’t play today, but he’s had a really good trip both offensively and on defense. Christian, of course, did his job and scored the goals. Danny Cruz came in today and looked good. Jimmy [JC] Banks got some minutes today for the first time this year. Stefano (Pinho) is getting there, still a couple weeks away, but can participate more and more each day. But Bernardo has been really good, and Jeb Brovsky was very impressive as well, really solid.
JR: You touched a bit on Stefano & Jimmy (the artist formerly known as JC?) and their recoveries. Any other players carrying knocks at this point?
CC: Pitch (Aaron Pitchkolan) turned his ankle in the last game. Greg Jordan got manhandled as usual and is also suffering a bit of dehydration so he didn’t play today. Bernardo has a bit of a hamstring issue. This is sounding like a bit of a laundry list, unfortunately… (laughing)
Juliano is still recovering. Jimmy had a shoulder surgery during the offseason and is starting to see some action. Daniel Mendes has been struggling with a virus and his chest is really tight with the altitude, so he’s only played a few minutes. Ibson will fly up later this week or Monday at the latest to rejoin the team. It’ll be good to have everyone healthy and add some quality to our bench again after the past month.
JR: You mentioned that Jeb stood out. How have Elbio Alvarez and Grant Bell looked over the month?
CC: Well, Grant came in today for twenty minutes. Played at left back and right back. Not sure how we’ll move forward with him. We’ll certainly give him a place on the reserve team, though. Very good kid, bright future. As far as Elbio, he’s a good kid, but he isn’t what we’re looking for at this point.
JR: Are there any other guys you’ve been looking at or positions you’re still trying to fill?
CC: We need a couple of fullbacks. We’re set as far as our starters with Venegas and JD, but we really need to shore up those spots more than any other right now. Manny’s doing his thing and talking to some players, but at this point fullback is priority number one.
JR: One final note – all your career, you’ve worn a tracksuit on the sidelines. Now that you’ll be the head coach, are you keeping the tracksuit or moving onto something a bit more formal?
CC: I’m very comfortable in the tracksuit, obviously. I wore shorts and a track jacket every match here in Mexico. I think there’s an NASL rule where coaches have to wear a shirt and dress pants. At this point, I don’t have a proper suit for the sidelines. I might need a sponsor for that. From what I’ve seen, Armani does very nice work…
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